


Beneath the Waves

by fezwearingjellybananas



Series: Writer's Month 2020 [6]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Ficlet, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West, Selkies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Eva's ship was sinking and Iris was alone in the water, too far from land. She couldn't see Barry, or anyone, but she knew Carver had found Zoloman's treasure before they did, and she knew what had been in that treasure.And then she woke up in a cave.
Series: Writer's Month 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859224
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	Beneath the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's Month Day 6: Ocean

There was something soft under Iris. Not a bed exactly, but something soft. She could hear a gentle sound of water brushing against rock. That didn’t make sense. She hadn’t been near land. She’d tried to find it, tried swimming, but she’d been so tired. And then- and then-

“Easy now,” a voice she’d never heard before said. Iris opened her eyes. He clearly knew she was awake.

She was lying on some kind of woven seaweed. That was what was soft. She could smell the salt, so it was the sea that was pooling in the middle of the cave. She couldn’t see another way out but underwater, but it looked like the walls themselves were illuminated in blues, green, and purples, reflecting off flecks of glass hanging from the ceiling. And there was a wall of shelves, lined with bottles, and with plants and fish Iris didn’t recognise. And the man who’d spoken was kneeling next to her, holding a cup of water.

“My name is Cisco,” he said with a smile. “Welcome to my cave. Please drink, I promise it’s fresh water.”

He had long black hair, and he looked human, but his eyes were anything but. One moment they were brown, then a deep blue, then green, every time Iris tried to focus on them, they shifted again.

“What are you?” she asked.

“Myself,” he said.

“That’s not helpful.”

“No,” he said. “I have many names others call me, and many forms. I thought this one would suit meeting you best.”

“Other forms?” Iris asked. She looked at his hands. There was no webbing between his fingers, and his eyes were no where near as big as- “Barry. Where’s Barry?”

“Out of my reach. Please drink, Iris West. Even you land creatures require water.”

Iris accepted the cup and took a sip. It tasted a little odd, but not salty.

“I have something for you,” Cisco said. He stood and pulled something grey from one of the shelves.

“That’s a seal skin,” Iris said. “A selkie skin. Where did you get this?”

“What do you know of selkie skins?”

“They let selkies shift between their seal and human forms. Barry said he could feel it, even when we were miles away, and he said if his was destroyed before he could recover it, he would die.”

“Like almost all selkie pups, he was born in his skin. He did not shed it until his tenth summer. It connects him to the sea, to his home, to his family, he would not wish to survive without it. But it is possible for a selkie to give up their skin and continue on, just as it is possible for another to be given a gift of a skin.”

“How?”

“His would not work on another, it belongs to him, but it is possible to weave the sea and give the gift.”

“How can you weave the sea?”

“With magic.”

“And you know magic.”

“I know many things. I know pasts, presents, and possible futures. But my vision is limited to my own domain and you are from the land. Strictly speaking I’m not supposed to interfere with mortals too much, but I was curious, and it is so rare for a selkie to call on my services. Usually they keep to my brother’s domain, but he did tell me to expect-” He made a chittering noise and Iris frowned. “I did not expect the first I heard from him to be asking me to save a human. Why did come to sea? You told him it was to seek your fortune, like everyone else on the high seas. You lied.”

“I did.”

“You also told him Joseph Carver threatened your father’s life, and you aimed to stop him to protect your father.”

“That’s true.”

“Is that all the truth?”

“Carver is a bad person. I wanted people to know the truth about him. He’s a liar and he hurts people and he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that just because he has enough money he can get people to sweep it under the rug for him. I just needed evidence.”

“So you dressed up as a boy, called yourself Ira Russel, and joined a crew of pirates captained by his ex-wife.”

“He told everyone Eva was dead. I thought I might learn something.”

“Did you?”

“A lot.”

“Do know why-” he made the chittering noise again- “left the ices?”

“Barry? Is that Barry’s name?”

“In his own tongue, yes. What did he tell you?”

“That Zoloman caught his sister and he wanted her skin, so Barry made a deal and gave up his own instead. He said Zoloman hid his skin with his treasures, it was why he offered to help Eva find where he’d hidden them after she attacked Zoloman’s ship, even if he didn’t mention his skin.”

“Sister might not be an exact translation, but I think it’s probably the closest. Caitlin has pleaded with my brother every day to bring Barry home again. We're not really allowed to just do that, but if my title is guardian then I should be able to defend the life in my domain. And I can give you the tools you need to take him home. But I need you to do something for me in return.”

“What?”

“I can’t turn you into a selkie, Barry doesn’t have a seal form and a human form, he has two selkie forms, this will give you a seal and a human form. It won’t teach you the language, you won’t have the webbed fingers or the resistance to cold he does, but in it you’ll be as good a swimmer as a seal, you’ll be able to hold your breath far longer than you can as a human. But it will connect you to the sea and specifically, because I made it, to me. I will be able to find you, wherever you go, as long as you have your skin, even if you head to the furthest inland place you can find.”

“Why do you want that?”

“I think magic might be in danger. I don’t know how, or why, or when, or even if what I saw will come to pass, but I had a vision and I am concerned, and what you overheard Carver and Black say is a good enough starting point. You came to sea to seek truth; I would appreciate if you kept doing that. I won’t watch you if you’re worried about that, I’ll just hear you when you ask for me.”

“Like you heard Barry.”

“Yes.”

“Where is he right now?”

“The brig of Carver’s ship, alongside David Singh and Kamilla Hwang. He has his skin again, but that isn’t going to help him through a locked door.”

“Where are they going?”

“Towards an island. Small enough I can still see, but not somewhere I can influence. The skin will help you stay hidden. They assume you’re dead. Barry is still praying to me for your safety, but I suspect even his hope will wane eventually.”

“How do I get there?”

“I’ll ask some whales to help you. They won’t be able to get too close and having a seal’s agility in water will help you there too, but it is your decision.”

“When was the last time you wove someone a skin?”

“A few years ago. It could have been decades, it could have been centuries, I don’t remember. He was in love and he wished to join his love.”

Cisco smiled, put the skin down, and slipped into the water. His legs rippled until a huge black and gold tail was stretching out under him.

“Either way, you’ll need my help to leave. Even a selkie cannot survive at these depths.”

Iris picked up the skin.

“You think I can save him?”

“All you have to do is unlock the door and swim. He’ll help with the rest. I think they’re already coming up with a plan.”

Iris picked the skin up and pulled it over her shoulders. She felt weird. Suddenly the wrong shape.

“You’ll get used to it after a few tries,” Cisco said. He offered a hand and Iris outstretched her own, only it wasn’t a hand anymore. “It’s a lot easier to move in the water. And I know it’s going to seem impossible to take it off when your flippers can’t reach your shoulders, but it’s magic. Do you want to practise first?”

Iris tried reaching up for her shoulders, and then the selkie skin was on the floor and she was standing up.

“That’s weird.”

“Like I said, you’ll get used to it. Ready?”

“I’m ready,” Iris said. She pulled the skin back on, slipped into the water, and Cisco held onto her.

“Here we go.”

The two of them shot up towards the surface faster than Iris had ever moved before. And there was already a whale waiting. She wasn’t sure if Cisco knew that or if he’d called for one.

It didn’t matter. She had to get back to Barry.


End file.
